


philuatia

by eorumverba



Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M, Multi, uhhhh everyone loves jong thts p much it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 08:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14184513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eorumverba/pseuds/eorumverba
Summary: five times jonghyun falls in love, and the one time it all comes together





	philuatia

It’s a poetic morning, Jonghyun thinks, it’s cloudy and little flurries of snow have started to fall, just enough to cover the ground as he hurries through the empty streets. It’s early enough that there are no cars out, and the quiet of the morning makes him want to sit down and scribble out poem after poem.

But it’s too cold for that and his fingers feel like ice, so Jonghyun picks up his pace so he can hurry into the coffee shop that he knows is just ahead. He’s still sleepy as well, and as soon as the heat from the cafe spreads through his body, the exhaustion comes back. He walks up to the counter still yawning, eyes cast down as he does so.

But then he looks up to make his order, and his gaze meets the barista’s, and he freezes. Because they’re pretty, they’re beautiful, they’re  _gorgeous_ , and all Jonghyun wants to do is sit down and stare at them and write poems and songs and sonnets about them, and-

“Excuse me?”

“Um, hot chocolate? Just - yeah. Can you? Make that?”

“You…don’t want a coffee?”

“I’ve never had a good coffee before, so, yeah. Just…they’re all too bitter for me.”

The barista - Key, it says on their nametag - scoffs and shakes their head. “Let me choose, okay? Do you have any allergies?”

“No, nothing. I’m gonna go sit now. I-” Jonghyun makes the mistake of looking back up at Key, straight into their eyes, and his throat dries up almost immediately.

“You?”

“You’re just really pretty? And just…gorgeous? God, never mind. I’m sitting.”

Key laughs a little under their breath before nodding. “You’re cute,” they say, almost under their breath, but Jonghyun hears it and flushes pink, and this time, he can’t even blame it on the cold weather.

And Key seems to notice, because they laugh openly now, a fond little grin curving up their lips as they say, “You’re adorable. What’s your name?”

“Oh, you don’t have to put anything. It’s just us here-”

“I don’t want your name for the cup.”

Oh.  _Oh_. Jonghyun’s blush darkens and he bites his lip to keep from grinning, flustered and soft and melty now. “I’m Jonghyun.”

“Jonghyun,” Key tries, and then, “Jonghyunnie.”

“ _Stop!_ ” Jonghyun whines, and he can’t  _help_  pouting now. He’s not trying to be cute, he’s  _not_ , he’s just flustered and soft and Key’s smile is _not helping._

“Okay, Jonghyunnie. You’re just really cute, I couldn’t help it.”

Jonghyun whines again, and before Key can get the satisfaction of seeing him pout, he shuffles away to an empty table, putting his head in his hands so he can calm down. It doesn’t take that long for him, considering, and Jonghyun is quick to pull out his notebook and scribble down a few lines - except those few turn into more, and by the time Key comes over with his drink, Jonghyun has almost a full page written on.

“What are you writing, Jonghyunnie?” Key asks, sitting down across from him. It’s nothing explicit, but Jonghyun still blushes and protectively covers his notebook with one hand while reaching for the coffee with the other.

“What drink is this?” he asks instead.

Key rolls their eyes like they know what Jonghyun is trying to do, but they indulge him, grin tugging the corners of their lips up again. “White chocolate mocha. Remember that, Jonghyunnie.”

“White chocolate mocha,” Jonghyun repeats,  _ignoring_  the way Key is looking at him, because that is  _not_  fair. When he takes a sip, he’s delighted at how sweet it is, and when he tells Key that, the barista laughs.

“It’s supposed to be sweet, Jonghyunnie. That’s why I gave it to you - you’re sweet. It suits you.”

Jonghyun is very quickly approaching crush territory, and that is absolutely not fair.

“Stop  _saying_  things like that!”

“Why, Jonghyunnie?”

“Just…it’s  _flustering_.”

“Good. You’re cute when you’re flustered, Jonghyunnie.”

“My heart though…it’s really weak and I’m gonna get a crush on you!” Jonghyun is well aware that he’s probably whining now, but he can’t  _help_  it.

The bell above the door jingles before Key can answer, but their eyes are soft and their touch gentle when they reach out to pat Jonghyun’s hand. The touch, however gentle, however chaste, makes Jonghyun’s heart stutter in his chest, and yeah. Crush territory. He’s more than already there. But that’s okay, because before Jonghyun can leave, Key beckons him back up to the counter and hands him a slip of paper, and scrawled on that paper is their name (their real name, Kibum) and a phone number.

At least this time, Jonghyun can blame his blush on the cold outside.

* * *

The boy at the desk just ahead of him is fast asleep, and Jonghyun bites his lip hard to keep from laughing when he lets out a quiet snoring breath. His name is Jinki, and they had bio together last year, but they’ve never talked or anything. All Jonghyun knows about Jinki is that he sits in the best seat of class - not too close to the front to be picked on by the teacher, not too far back to be labelled a distraction, just close enough to the door to be one of the first to leave. He knows that Jinki gets great grades, that he doesn’t like answering questions even if he usually gets them right, and that he doesn’t really have  _friends_  even if he knows everyone.

But they’ve never talked.

He’s kind of cute, but not quite Jonghyun’s type, and that’s okay. He’s just nice to look at, nice to think about, nice to smile at and have him smile back.

Jinki has an amazing smile.

Jonghyun reaches into his bag for the granola bar he’d hurriedly put in there, but before he can open it, he glances back up and over at Jinki. He’s asleep, and he’ll probably be hungry when he wakes up, so…

As quietly as he can, Jonghyun steals over to Jinki’s desk and places the granola bar in front of him, then goes back to his seat, pleased. He kind of wants to wake Jinki up himself, wants to see how Jinki will smile at him, but he also wants to let Jinki sleep, and…Jinki’s  _really_  cute.

Before Jonghyun can decide, Jinki shifts and sits up, yawning into his hand and rubbing at his eyes. Jonghyun’s heart kind of melts a little, and when Jinki spots the granola bar, he freezes. He frowns a little, then picks it up and glances up, straight at Jonghyun.

Jonghyun waves a little, a flustered grin twitching up the corners of his lips, and the way Jinki  _smiles_  at him makes his heart flutter and a giggle bubble up on his lips.

“Thank you,” Jinki mouths at him, and when Jonghyun nods, Jinki’s smile turns soft. He’s quick to gather up his things and move them to Jonghyun’s desk, and before Jonghyun can say not to, Jinki splits the granola bar in two for them to share.

And yeah, they’re studying two completely different subjects as they eat, and they’re not talking, but their arms sometimes touch as they write, and the silence between them is so comfortable that Jonghyun can pretend that it’s a date.

* * *

Jonghyun kind of likes riding the bus. He likes people watching, likes seeing where other people get off, likes the press of other passengers against him even though they’re all in their own personal bubbles.

There’s no one sitting next to him now, but that’s okay. There’s actually not that many people on the bus today, so Jonghyun takes out his notebook - it’s partially to look busy, but it’s also because the girl across from him is smiling down at her phone like she’s in love, and he can only imagine where the people on the streets are rushing to, the girls holding hands and the boy blowing into his hands to warm them, the group of twos and threes huddled together.

The bus stops abruptly and a stream of people get on, and Jonghyun glances at each one as they pass him, smiling shyly but politely and then freezing because the last one that got one, the one bowing and smiling broadly at the bus driver  _must_  be a celebrity. They’re tall and handsome, fashionable and unruffled even in the cold, and god, Jonghyun could write whole novels about the soft curve of their pink lips and the color high on their cheeks, the kindness in their eyes and the soft swoop of their hair. And their  _hair_ , it’s a pretty silver color, reminds Jonghyun of the reflection of the moon on the water, of the sky on a foggy morning, of the fur of the kitten he’d passed by at the pet store.

And Jonghyun is perfectly content to stare at them from afar, but their gazes meet and the must-be-celebrity  _smiles_  at him, comes forward and sits down next to him. “Hi,” they say, and their voice is warm and soft, kind and sweet.

“Are you a celebrity?” Jonghyun blurts out - he doesn’t even feel embarrassed when they laugh, because even their laugh is kind.

“No, I’m not. I’m a student - the hair was kind of an impulse, kind of a dare. But I kind of like it.”

“I do too, it really suits you. You’re really cute-” and okay, now he’s embarrassed. But, he comforts himself, it’s not like they’ll ever see each other again. They’re just strangers, so whatever he says now won’t matter in the long run.

“You’re cute too, you know. And I’m Minho.”

“I’m Jonghyun. And I’m not cute!”

“You’re adorable, Jonghyun. Jonghyunnie.”

Jonghyun is going to  _melt_. “You’re being  _mean_ , Ming.”

“How am I being mean? All I’m doing is calling you cute, Jonghyunnie.”

Instead of answering, Jonghyun flops back in his seat and pouts out the window, ignoring Minho’s enamored little laugh. “I’m leaving soon, because you’re  _mean_.”

“Oh? That’s a shame. I’ll miss you, Jonghyunnie.” Before Jonghyun can figure out what to say to that, Minho reaches out and tugs at his notebook. “What are you writing?”

“Just…I write songs sometimes? And poems too, and I kind of want to write a book one day, so…everything? Things I see and things I want, just…everything.”

Minho nods and reaches out for Jonghyun’s pen as well, first looking through the pages and then scribbling something quickly down before handing the closed book and pen back once Jonghyun’s stop comes close. “Bye, Jonghyunnie. Travel safe.”

“Thank you,” Jonghyun says, and he’s trying not to giggle, but Minho doesn’t need to know that. He’s kind of sad that he’ll be leaving Minho, but…they’re just strangers. It’s kind of romantic, he can’t help thinking as the bus stops, that they’ve met like this, that they’re leaving with this.

But he will miss them.

Jonghyun casts Minho one last glance before getting off to find Minho staring back - when their gazes meet, Minho smiles wide and then gestures to Jonghyun’s notebook.

He doesn’t have time to think about it, but when he gets to the library and sits down with Jinki, only then does he see the note and number scribbled down in what must be Minho’s handwriting.

Thankfully, Jinki only barely teases Jonghyun about the fit of giggles that immediately comes over him.

* * *

Jonghyun doesn’t get new neighbors often, so when the moving van pulls up just after classes one day, he’s excited beyond belief. It feels like Christmas and his birthday and Halloween all put together, and he hopes that whoever’s moving in will be  _cute_. His last neighbor had been cute, but not his type at  _all_ , and they weren’t all that close.

It’s another few days before his new neighbor moves in, but Jonghyun misses them, because they’re busy recording while they get in. Luckily, the walls aren’t too thin, and hopefully, the sounds of them unpacking won’t get caught on his mic. So it’s almost a week after his new neighbor moves in that Jonghyun meets them.

They’re the one that knock on his door, and when Jonghyun answers, he’s immediately blushing because they’re not just cute, they’re cute cute  _cute_ , and Jonghyun is sort of in love already.

Their hair feathers out messily around their face, and it looks like they’ve just woken up with how sleepy their eyes are and how puffy their face is. Their clothes are rumpled - a huge hoodie and sweats to match, and they’re just…adorable.

“Hey,” they say with a sleepy grin, “I’m Taemin. I moved in a little while ago and I wanted to introduce myself. And also apologize for…I heard you singing while I was moving boxes.”

“It’s fine, you weren’t on my recording. And I’m Jonghyun.” Brain grinding to a halt, Jonghyun says the only thing he can think of - “And you’re a fairy prince, right?”

Taemin brings one hand up to cover their mouth, and the way their eyes squint up when they laugh makes Jonghyun’s heart melt. “I wouldn’t say  _prince_ , Jonghyunnie.”

“What then? If you don’t mind?”

Taemin shrugs, still smiling, and even though they still look sleepy, their grin seems almost like they’re flirting? But that’s probably what Jonghyun wants to think, so he just bites his lip and asks, “Do you want to come in?”

“Please,” Taemin replies, and they wait for Jonghyun to go inside before following him. The way they sprawl out on Jonghyun’s couch makes his throat ache, makes him want to cry because it’s so beautiful and ethereal and domestic all at the same time, and Jonghyun wants to come home to this, wants to come home to Taemin lying asleep on the couch, wants to wake them up and make dinner with them and fall asleep with them and wake up with them.

“Do I have something on my face?” Taemin asks, and Jonghyun jumps a little.

“What?”

“You were staring at me, Jonghyunnie.”

“Just…you’re so pretty. You’re like an angel?”

“From a fairy prince to an angel…you’re adorable, Jonghyunnie.” There’s fondness in Taemin’s eyes and on their lips, and when they beckon Jonghyun over, it’s all too easy for him to collapse into their arms. Yeah, they’re a stranger, and yeah, it should be uncomfortable, but it’s not. Jonghyun would definitely call himself a romantic, but it feels  _natural_  like this, and Taemin smells like fresh laundry, and their arms and legs wrap around him perfectly.

“Taeminnie,” Jonghyun mumbles, “I wanna write.”

“Write what?”

“Just how I feel.”

“And how do you feel?”

“Warm…” Jonghyun considers, tips his head back and curls into Taemin for the way they hold onto him even tighter. “Safe. Soft? This feels…romantic? And domestic. Just…you feel like home. I wanna get that down before I forget how this feels.”

Taemin hums, his breath coming out warm and steady against Jonghyun’s ear. Their arms tighten again as they shift, and they fumble for Jonghyun’s hands to hold, fond amusement in their voice as they say, “You won’t forget, Jonghyunnie. And if you do, you can come over and we can do this again.”

Jonghyun’s heart flutters, and he’s sure that Taemin can actually feel it skip a beat now - they laugh a little and their lips brush against the side of his neck. It’s not quite a kiss, but it still makes Jonghyun shiver, and he should be wary, should tell Taemin to slow down, should remind them that they just met, but…it feels right.

“Taeminnie, you’re being  _mean_.”

“How am I being mean?” Another not-quite kiss, this time drifting up further towards Jonghyun’s jaw.

“Just…I wanna kiss you.”

“Say please, hm?” Taemin sounds like he’s half joking, but the way he says it, how close Jonghyun is to getting what he wants…

“ _Please_ , I really wanna.”

The way Taemin’s breath catches in their throat makes Jonghyun think that they weren’t quite expecting Jonghyun to actually say it, and their hands fall to his hips to turn him around. Face to face, Taemin is even more beautiful, and Jonghyun feels so so much  _affection_  that he can’t  _help_  giggling, face dropping into Taemin’s neck to keep quiet.

“Jonghyunnie,” and now Taemin sounds all amused, “why are you laughing?”

“Just…you’re  _cute_. You’re cute, and I wanna kiss you, and you’re cute!”

“Then kiss me, Jonghyunnie.”

“ _Can’t!_ ”

Taemin laughs, shakes their head. “You’re adorable,” they say now, and it’s almost an afterthought, and before Jonghyun can really process it, Taemin reaches up to cup Jonghyun’s face in their hands to kiss him. It’s soft, and Taemin’s lips are chapped, but it’s kind of nice, almost endearing. They taste kind of like strawberries, and their hands are gentle on his face, and when they pull away, they’re smiling.

“Jonghyunnie, will you be alright if I go now? I have dance practice soon, and I have to change.”

“Don’t  _want_  you to go,” Jonghyun says, and his voice is edging into a whine as his mouth slips into a pout, because god, he wants Taemin to  _stay_.

“I can come back later, Jonghyunnie. I just have to go now. I’ll be back later though, okay?” Taemin leans in to press a quick kiss to Jonghyun’s lips, casual and chaste, and it makes Jonghyun’s heart flutter again to think of having this every day, all the time.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Jonghyun can live with that.

* * *

In the end, it’s Taemin that convinces him to dye his hair.

Jonghyun’s been thinking about dyeing it for a while, but it’s Taemin’s by-the-way comment that really convinces him. Taemin’s going to dye theirs blonde, and Jonghyun is just about ready to do the same (because we’ll  _match_ , Taeminnie!), but… _pink._

Jonghyun honestly doesn’t know where he got the idea from, to dye his hair pink. Pink isn’t his favorite color by far, isn’t associated with anything important, and no one he knows has done it, but…he just  _really_  wants to dye his hair pink. And Taemin definitely,  _definitely_  knows by the way they roll their eyes when Jonghyun mentions it just after breakfast.

“I  _know_ , Jonghyunnie. You’ve said so a thousand times already.” But with the words come a fond kiss to Jonghyun’s neck and an affectionate squeeze of his hand. “You’re gonna look super cute, Jonghyunnie. Pretty pink baby.”

“Thank you, Taeminnie.” Jonghyun leans up for a kiss, giggling a little at Taemin’s playful nip to his lower lip.

“Had a feeling you’d want pink, so I bought the dye when I went to get mine. They’re in my room though, so do you want to come over?”

“Yeah! Have ice cream, so we can have that too!”

“Cute, Jonghyunnie. Come on, let’s go.” Taemin keeps Jonghyun’s hand in theirs as they move from Jonghyun’s apartment to his own, leaves him to put the ice cream away while they get the hair dye. They come back to find him curled up in the corner of the couch, hugging a pillow to his chest as he flips through tv channels.

“Jonghyunnie, do you wanna go first, or me?”

“Me! I wanna be pink, Taeminnie!”

“Okay, baby.” When Jonghyun stands, Taemin kisses his cheek, and then they make their way to to the kitchen to start the hair dyeing process.

When it’s finally, finally done, Jonghyun collapses down next to Taemin in bed, phone clutched in his hand for a quick photo of their new hair. Neither of them have seen the outcome yet, and Jonghyun feels giddy, excited to see whether his hair will be dark pink or pastel pink or somewhere in between, and Taemin looks so  _pretty_  now, a pretty pretty sleepy angel.

When he opens the camera app, his breath actually catches in his throat, because his new hair is so  _pretty_. It’s a delicate cherry blossom pink, and Jonghyun  _loves_  it. It’s exactly the color he’d imagined, and this time, he completely agrees with Taemin when they lean over to kiss his cheek and mumble, “You’re adorable, Jonghyunnie. I really love you.”

Jonghyun knows that he loves Taemin, but he thinks he can love himself too.

* * *

It takes a while for them all to meet - conflicting schedules with school and work and practices mean that they’re all busy busy busy, but that’s fine, because they have a group chat with the five of them. Not everyone is around all at the same time, and some (Kibum) respond more than others (Jinki), and some (Minho) send more memes than actual responses, but at least they all (except Taemin) check the group on a regular basis.

So now that it’s the Saturday after finals, and Taemin’s last recital for the year is over, they’ve all decided to meet up for brunch. Jonghyun is pretty nervous, but he’s mostly excited - he’s been waiting for this to happen for what feels like ages, so when the day finally comes, he’s ready to go hours in advance. There’s still another hour or so before the time that they’ve agreed to meet, so Jonghyun heads over to Taemin’s apartment, frowning when he doesn’t hear the usual sounds of Taemin getting ready for the day.

Jonghyun decides to start cleaning up the dishes piled in Taemin’s sink - they still have their separate apartments, but it’s been long enough that they pretty much have each other’s routines down and have the keys to each other’s apartments. So Jonghyun isn’t honestly that surprised to find Taemin still asleep in bed when he finally finishes with the dishes. It takes a lot of whining, pouting and kisses to get Taemin out of bed, and even though Taemin is still half asleep even as they get themself ready, they don’t seem to mind his nervous bouncing around the apartment.

“Calm down, Jonghyunnie,” they say, and they look like they’re trying to bite back a sleepy, amused smile, “we’ve got time.”

“I wanna  _see_  everyone! I want you to meet everyone! Wanna see Kibummie and Minhoie and-”

“And Jinki?”

“And Jinki!”

“Okay, Jonghyunnie. Will it make you happy if I get ready faster?”

Jonghyun nods, quick and eager, making his eyes wide and his smile sweet as he beams over at Taemin. He looks cute, and he knows it, because he always makes himself look extra cute when he’s trying to get something that he wants. “Please, Taemie?”

Taemin sighs, and even though they shake their head, they have this enamoured look in their eye. “Okay, Jonghyunnie. Anything for you.”

 

Unsurprisingly, by the time they all get to the little cafe on the corner, mostly everyone else is there. Taemin counts two heads - one green, the other pink, both familiar - and Jonghyun’s hand tightens around theirs. “Jinki and Kibummie,” he breathes, and he’s  _excited_ , Taemin can tell.

“Come on, they’re waiting for us.”

Taemin tugs Jonghyun across the street after checking for cars, enters the cafe and heads straight for the booth where Jinki and Kibum are waiting. And they’d kind of wanted it to be a surprise, but Jonghyun is definitely not as patient as they are, because he blurts out, “Kibummie! Jinki!”

Both of them twist around and smile wide at the two of them. Both of them have drinks in front of them, and they scoot over on their respective sides of the booth for Taemin and Jonghyun to sit. Jonghyun settles easily into Kibum’s side, nuzzling into their side and giggling when Kibum’s arm wraps around him. When Jonghyun leans up and into Kibum, Taemin can’t tell if he’s whispering something or kissing them, and they don’t really care. Jonghyun’s always been overly affectionate, soft and sweet, and especially for the four of them.

“Sorry I’m late!” someone says - Minho - and their hair is dark brown now, cut short, boyish. The cut and their bright grin makes them look younger, and Taemin is more than a little bit enamoured. Minho squeezes in next to Kibum and Jonghyun, looking around at them with that broad smile still on their lips. “Jinki, Taemin, Kibum and our Jonghyunnie, right?”

“Right! Cheek kissie?” Jonghyun wiggles in place with the question, and when Minho nods, Jonghyun leans up to kiss his cheek. He catches Taemin’s gaze as he pulls away, and his whole face is shining bright with his happiness. Taemin can practically hear him now -  _all of my babes are here! You’re all here, and we’re all together!_

“So, Jonghyunnie,” Kibum says, and Taemin can’t bring themself to care that no one’s talking to them. This may have been brought on by Jonghyun, but it’s for him, and the one thing that they have in common is that they all wish to see him happy. “Are you happy?”

Taemin watches Jonghyun looks around at each of them, at Minho and Jinki, who are bickering in that fond way that they always did in their group chats and skype calls, at Kibum, finally back at them as Taemin reaches out to squeeze his hand, and the smile that blooms is like nothing they’ve ever seen.

“Yeah, I’m happy.”

And that’s more than enough for them.

 

 


End file.
